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Martial Arts Code of Ethics

A martial arts code of ethics – whether it is simply implicit, spoken of or written down – is something you will sooner or later encounter within any martial arts school, at least the more traditional ones.

And having such ethical standards being presented to you, should probably make you as a student or parent trust the teacher and the school fully, right?

If only that would always be the case…

The sad fact is that there are plenty of examples of martial arts instructors doing things which definitely can not be found on the to-do list in any code of ethics – or martial arts school curriculum for that matter.

Case in point is this report (excerpts below) from foxnews.com. You would think a kung fu grandmaster would be a person of high moral standards – not someone to commit a sexual assault.

Martial arts code of ethics

A 68-year-old kung fu grandmaster has been convicted of sexually abusing girls during martial arts lessons in a New York suburb.

And more:

(…), a retired county policeman, testified that he told students to kick and slap an attacker’s groin but did not have them fondle him. He said he taught ethics, respect and honor.

You may also want to check out the growing number of cases being presented here.

Still, in our experience, it is undoubtedly so that the vast majority of martial arts schools and martial arts teachers follow the high standards expected of them.

Letting your child participate in martial arts classes at a renowned school, club or academy is probably one of the safest things around.

All we are saying is to be cautious about any claim and not take everything at face value. Unfortunately there are bad people everywhere – the marital arts being no exception.

We’d love to hear what your experiences are? Have you encountered teachers or schools of the more shady variety, or is your experience of the positive kind.

Also, does your local martial arts school have a clear martial arts code of ethics? Simply comment below, send a Tweet or add to Facebook!